The web is empowering. Through the web, we can find information, read and share stories, find inspiration for the next thing we want to do, and communicate with others. We can make art: poems, essays, fiction, websites. We can share what makes us human.
I was thinking earlier today what I want for the web. Where do I want the web to be in the future? With ideas in mind, I can start working backward to think about what I can do. I love organising events for people interested in personal websites, but I wonder what else I can do for the web.
In a conversation with a friend, I wrote down three things I want for the web:
- Places I can go to meet fellow web creators (both in person and online).
- To help people find support for the creative things they want to do.
- To help people realise the full potential of the web.
This is not a complete list, but got me thinking more.
Above all, I want the web to be more human. I want it to be a place of connection. I also want us to recognise the limits of the web: that the web is one part of our daily lives and the world around us. I know that the web can be a part that brings us joy, connects us, and makes us feel inspired, but I also know that I’m happier when I have time away to do other things like play piano and dance and sing to my favourite songs.
For number one, I ambitiously noted how delightful it would be to have an international collective of blogger meetups in libraries; places where writers on the web can go to share ideas. In the interim, I am hosting a Homebrew Writing Club online in the coming weeks, a continuation of a series of information web writing events first started by Sara.
Communities already exist for the web — the 32-Bit Cafe and the IndieWeb being especially wonderful places — but I think there is so much more community building to do. We need a plurality of community. How do we create more opportunity in the web? How can we help more people embrace the web as a publishing platform?
Coming back to the original thought — what I want for the web — I would like to posit the question to you: What do you want for the web? Be ambitious. By sharing ideas out in the open, we can continue an essential discussion: what can this thing we call the web be at its best? Then, we can start making steps to improve the status quo. If you have ideas, I encourage you to write about them! If you need time to think, take all the time you need! Sometimes the best ideas take time to grow.
